After several years of uncertainty, sports betting is a safe bet in Massachusetts.
Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill to legalize sports betting on Wednesday, officially joining a wave of states that have moved to allow betting on everything from the Super Bowl to college athletics after the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban last year completed in 2018.
“I am pleased to sign this bill into law today,” Baker said in a statement Wednesday, noting that his administration first proposed sports betting legislation in 2019.
According to the American Gaming Association, the new law makes Massachusetts the 36th state in the United States to legalize sports betting.
However, the Bay State’s new law differs in several ways from sports betting schemes in neighboring states, and it will take some time to catch on.
Who’s allowed to bet?
You must be 21 years of age or older to bet on sports in Massachusetts, just like at any of the state’s casinos. That’s in line with Connecticut, but it’s slightly stricter than New Hampshire and Rhode Island, which allow as young as 18 to bet on sports.
What exactly can you bet on?
Professional and (most) collegiate sports are fair game. You can also bet on e-sports. This may interest you : Some sports legends don’t want to stop playing. But is that really a bad thing?. But betting on high school and youth sports remains prohibited.
There is a nuance to college sports: no betting is allowed on in-state college teams unless they are playing in a tournament.
For example, all regular season Boston College basketball games are off limits (at least in Massachusetts). But you can bet on them when they play in March Madness or their conference tournament. You also won’t be able to bet on a Massachusetts college football team’s postseason bowl game — unless they’re in the four-team College Football Playoff (then again, we probably don’t have to worry about that).
Where will I be able to place bets?
The new law allows the state’s existing casinos to submit an application for a license to a personal sports bet provider. In fact, Everett’s Encore Boston Harbor and the MGM in Springfield already built sports bars in their casinos that are basically sports books-in-waiting. See the article : EA Sports will become title sponsor of the Spanish league in 2023. The Plainridge Park Casino intends to set up a sports book, too.
But traveling to a casino will be far from your only option.
The law also allows Raynham Park and Suffolk Downs — which continue to have simulcast betting on dog and horse races — to open on-site sports books. In addition, the three casinos, two racetracks and up to seven other companies (think: DraftKings or FanDuel) may launch mobile sports betting apps.
The law says you must be physically in Massachusetts when placing a bet. So, you won’t be able to take your phone to, say Vermont and place bets across state lines. (Exactly how this will be implemented has yet to be outlined, but other states with mobile sports betting use geotagging on websites and apps to verify the user’s location.)
At some point in the future, there will also be the possibility that you can bet on businesses such as restaurants and hotels in Massachusetts.
The new law directs the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to conduct a study on the feasibility of allowing businesses to operate sports betting kiosks and report back to the legislature with recommendations by the end of the year.
When will betting begin?
The new law does not include any timelines or deadlines. On the same subject : Big Ten’s mega-move, LIV Golf, broadcasts and more: Sports Media Mailbag, Part I. What it does is task the commission with creating a licensing process — as well as a host of other rules and regulations — for the new industry.
Despite optimism from some lawmakers that betting could be up and running in time for the start of this year’s football season, members of the Gaming Commission warned last week that it would likely take several months at a minimum.
While some commissioners stressed that they have studied other states and prepared license applications, the task before them is considerable.
All in all, gaming commission spokesman Tom Mills told WBUR in an email that they have to decide and formalize “over 200 regulations.” That includes everything from licenses and technology standards to advertising rules to addiction safeguards. They also need to hire staff to run a new sports betting division, draft the regulations, take public input and formally vote on all the rules.
Carrie Torrisi, a lawyer for the commission, noted that the process of proposing and adopting all the rules — once drafted — could take two to three months.
In some states, such as Maine and Ohio, the rollout takes as much as a year or more.
“I want the public to understand, as we as commissioners begin to understand, that this is not something that happens overnight,” Commissioner Brad Hill said during a meeting last week. “This is going to take a little longer than people probably anticipate, and I’m OK with that because I’m doing it right.”
How exactly do you place a bet?
Here’s another important point: No credit cards.
That means you probably need a bank card or bank routing number to set up mobile wagering accounts. The rule is supposed to keep problem gamblers out of deep debt.
“The idea that someone can somewhat impulsively rack up massive credit card bills from their couch, who might have an addiction problem or otherwise have a gambling problem — that’s a big concern,” state Sen. Eric Lesser, co-author of the law, said at a state House News Service Forum this past spring.
Are there any other safeguards?
Yes. While many of these rules are determined by the Gaming Commission, there are some basic measures of the law.
For one, people with gambling problems – or anyone, really – can put their name on a “self-excluded persons” list. The list is shared with the operators, who must prohibit those listed from placing bets on their properties or online platforms. (The list is otherwise kept private.)
The commission must also establish rules against misleading or excessive advertising, as well as guidelines for casinos and other operators to promote “responsible gambling.” Online and mobile betting platforms will display the phone number and website for the state’s problem gaming hotline every time a user opens the app.
Is the industry taxed?
But unlike the state’s sales tax or marijuana excise tax, consumers won’t see it on their bets or winnings.
Instead, the law calls for taxing the total monthly income that casinos and other companies bring in from sports betting. The rates are a 15% tax on revenue from in-person betting, a 20% tax on revenue from mobile betting and a 15% tax on revenue from fantasy sports.
That’s actually much lower than the tax rates in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, both of which impose a 51% tax on operator income. Richard McGowan, a Boston College professor who studies the gaming industry, told WBUR the lower rates in Massachusetts could help the state compete against peers with more established sports betting industries.
“Because they come late to the table of sports gambling, maybe they think they will certainly make it more interesting for the operators to come here if there is a lower tax rate,” said McGowan.
Lawmakers estimate the taxes bring in $60 million in state revenue each year, in addition to $70 to $80 million from initial license fees that must be renewed every five years.
Where does all that money go?
The law divides the state’s wagering tax revenue into several different funds:
What happens to unclaimed winning?
Individuals have up to one year to claim their winnings from a bet on a game or event. After that, operators are required to deposit unauthorized winnings into a fund that pays for the work of the Gaming Commission to monitor sports betting.
With reporting from the WBUR Newscast Unit
